Overview
- State rules enable Sunday and holiday openings in 95 Schleswig‑Holstein and 58 Mecklenburg‑Vorpommern municipalities, including resort islands such as Sylt, Amrum, Föhr, Usedom and Rügen.
- Stores may open for six hours within an 11:00–19:00 window from March 15 to October 31 and from December 17 to January 8, with Heligoland allowed 08:00–20:00 from December 15 to October 31.
- Sales are limited to everyday goods, leaving furniture outlets, car dealerships, DIY stores and large‑appliance retailers closed.
- Handelsverband Nord supports the regulation as an important tourism feature that generates extra takings and helps secure jobs and local revenues.
- Verdi argues the measure burdens staff and is pursuing a lawsuit in MV with a hearing at the Oberverwaltungsgericht Greifswald on Thursday, while business leaders there push for even broader openings after shops stayed shut during Usedom’s Baltic Lights event.